The Steve McQueer Porsche turbo that he owned for all of like 4 years along with something like 5 or 6 other owners sold for 1.95 million. Maybe I should have titled this thread, " A fool and his money are soon parted." They didn't even list the mileage of this car. Personally, I could give a rats ass that it was owned by an actor. People are really strange as to what they hold in high esteem.
Steve McQueen and co-driver Peter Revson finished first in class and second overall at the 1970 Sebring 12 Hours driving a Porsche 908/2 prepared by McQueen's Solar Productions. Racing a 3 liter car, they missed winning by 23 seconds to the world-class team of Mario Andretti/Ignazio Giunti/Nino Vaccarella driving a 5 liter works Ferrari 512 S prepared by Scuderia Ferrari. McQueen had broken his foot two weeks prior and drove the whole race in a plaster cast. See also 1964 International 6 Day Trials (motorcycles), US Team roster See also Baja 1000, Mint 400, Elsinore Grand Prix See also a little movie featuring Porsches entitled Le Mans McQueen had serious credentials as a racer both on 2 wheels and 4. He was a noted collector of cars, motorcycles and airplanes. As an actor he was the biggest box office star in the world in his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 he was the highest paid movie star in the world. Movie critics and fans nicknamed him The King of Cool. In terms of a famous name associated with Porsche, it would be hard to come up with someone that more Porsche people and gear heads in general recognized and associated with the marque. You may find it strange that people will pay more for a car he owned. Those people seem to, for some reason or another, be okay with it. Best Regards, Dave
Why are there no pictures of him with the car on the internet? I remember seeing one of him in his 930 ten years or so ago in a motoring magazine, so they do exist.
Unless the auction house was bidding, there was at least another bidder behind him. Maybe they were buying each other drinks? lol. I can see some extra value for a Steve Mcqueen car, but nothing like that. A crazy world we live in.
The original selling price thoughts were that the McQueen car would hammer for ten times the value of a "regular 930". And they assumed a regular version to be about $100k. However they are off as in today's market a regular 930 is nearly $200k in many cases. So... 10 X $200k = $2M. God Bless America.
Well said. Someone paid $6 million for "the pope's Enzo" that wasn't even owned by the pope. At least that was only 2.5 times a 'normal' Enzo.
interesting to contemplate: When the McQueen Lusso sold a few years back for >$2M, everyone marveled at the $2.3X which was ~3-4X going range in '11, everyone was shocked at the 'celebrity premium,' paid for an otherwise unremarkable (and brown) car. But this is 6-7-8X the price of a comparable Turbo Carrera, for a car you could argue was less significant to Steve. Irrespective of the head scratching around the incredible appreciation of Turbo Carreras, (not complaining as the owner of a car ~20 serial digits from STeve's!) Why the increase in the 'celebrity' premium paid??? Edit: actually the charity angle may be more of the explanation than is credited...
Charity angle, plus the McQueen mystique appeals to a much broader market than just Porsche enthusiasts or car enthusiasts.
There was one bidder on this car from what I could tell. Dana Mecum convinced the Seller to lift reserve after the bid.
Agreed but my point was why would there be an _increase_ in the 'McQueen mystique' premium since 2011 when his Lusso sold. The Lusso was 2-3X more than the average 250 L while this is 7-10X value of a TC. Weird.
Guys my age have no connection to Steve McQueen and have likely never seen one of his movies or 1-2 at best. I don't see the allure of that provenance continuing long term.
Where were you guys when his racing suit sold for one million dollar, his watch for 800.000 dollar and a jacket he wore in the Bullit movie also for 800.000? Not that I think it's worth it but we could have seen it coming... Erik
These pictures says it all. The Porsche 930 is now a icon. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This. Didn't his sunglasses bring $70,000 a few years back as well? Interesting perspective. I think McQueen is a little before my time as well, so wouldn't write a blank check for his cars. I don't know... probably (?) the current mania for classic cars just amplified the appeal of the provenance. Porsche 930s are still cheap relative to Lussos or Jag XK-SS, and his Speedster and 911S aren't for sale, so again someone with more money than he knows what do with saw a rare opportunity and wasn't all that concerned. McQueen also owned a bunch of trucks, according to Matt Stone's book. Wonder what a banged up, rusty 1970s Ford pickup would bring if McQueen had owned it.